Past News Releases

A new non-profit farmers market, the Little Haiti Farmers Market will open for the season on Saturday January 7, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m at Touissant Louverture Elementary School in Little Haiti (120 Northeast 59th Street), providing neighborhood residents with fresh local produce, specialized products, free health screenings, and entertainment.

“The Little Haiti Farmers Market will create easy and affordable access to healthy and nutritious food in the community of Little Haiti,” said Phil Rincon, market manager and Co-Founder of Bochika, the market’s lead sponsor. “Bochika is proud to sponsor the market as part of the Make Healthy Happen Miami campaign to increase community access to healthy foods, particularly in underserved communities and high-risk populations.”

Produce at the market is provided by local and urban farmers, including Maggie Pons (Roots in the City), Garden of Ian, Urban Green Works, Earth Learning Food Hub and the Little Haiti Community Garden. Specialty good and prepared food vendors are primarily from the Haitian community and include Blended Herbs, Rose Joseph’s Health Consultancy, Bongo Logic Oils and Incense, Omeja’s Organic Soap, and Caraibe Soup & Pikliz. Weekly free health screenings provided by the Miami Jewish Health Systems and 54 Street Medical Plaza.

"The Little Haiti Farmers Market provides a unique opportunity for neighborhood residents to buy produce straight from the farmers who grew it, as well as Haitian specialty foods and products, such as Pikliz, Soup Joumou, and organic soap." said Rincon. "We are also dedicated to supporting neighborhood businesses and organizations, giving them an opportunity to have direct access to their customer base by reserving a vendor booth at the market."

The grand opening of the market on January 7 will feature Haitian music, Health Fair, children’s activities and a clown.

Local businesses and organizations interested in sponsoring the market or having a vendor booth should call (786) 529-2010 or email market(at)bochika(dot)org.

About Bochika:
Bochika is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization founded in 2010 in Miami FL. Bochika’s mission is to empower marginalized and impoverished communities through participatory sustainable economic, agricultural and social development programs. To fulfill this mission, Bochika partners with civil society organizations in the developing world to design and implement programs that strengthen internal capacity through provision of essential resources of training, tools, and technology. Bochika’s work was acknowledged by former President Bill Clinton in 2010 and received an award from Miami-Dade County in 2011. Currently, Bochika is administering two major programs, the Tap Tap Garden in Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti and the Little Haiti Farmers Market in Miami. To learn more, visit http://www.bochika.org.